I made espresso successfully this monring, and then on the second ruond for the morning, the machine stopped sending water to the filter and now sends it straigt to the catch basin. Rebooting the machine changes nothing.

We have also had this machine for at least 6-9 months; maybe a year, and have never descaled it.

Did you ever find a solution to this problem? I just recently bought this coffee maker and have the same issue. Once the water goes directly to the catch basin the LCD blinks indefinitely. Please help!

Tried this but it didn't work. Apparently, according to the guy the Krups service center, this machine has bypass valves and mine has gone bad. Thanks for you help. I'll let you know if the valve does the trick.

Many months later I still have this problem. I re-ran the machine without water and the situation did not improve. I think my last option is to descale. If that doesn't work, I'm going to return the machine. This is my 2nd, for the price, this is very frustrating.

Sooo, the solution is not descaling nor is it running the machine without water. I called the Krups repair people in Florida and the guy told me that the "bypass" valves wear out on these machines and can get stuck. So apparently, that's what happened to mine before I returned it. It would work and then cease working for a week or so until the inside of the machine dried out from condensation, I think and then start working again. The final time 2 weeks had passed and I was done with it. It will take you so much time to get it repaired by the time you send it and it is sent back to you (month) that if you can return it for a new one, do it and let the store return yours to the manufacturer. Sorry.

I have a solution to the problem, so I thought I'd be helpful and share it here as my first post on CoffeeGeek!I'm not an appliance service man etc, but my job does involve maintaining and building a lot of electronic / mechanical devices.I've had this machine for ~3 years, and it does make very nice coffee, so it's well worth fixing it!

As has already been identified on this topic, the (double) bypass valve is the main reliability problem with the Krups XP2070 (this is probably true of other Krups machines within the same "family").The problem results in (hot) water being directed to the catch basin, instead of to the espresso brewer section of the machine.

This bypass valve is a cheap part, but unfortunately is no longer available (November 2011).However - the good news is that I've come up with a relatively easy solution to (permanently!) fix the problem with the bypass valve.In fact, the solution/fix is very simple, but taking apart the machine is the more complicated part!!

BEFORE you dismantle your machine, check the following to make sure this is the correct solution for your problem:1) Does your pump work? If your pump is working, the machine will make its usual noise when started / running. In fact - if the pump is broken, no water will get to the catch basin. If your pump is broken, this should be easily replaceable - but possibly quite costly.2) Can you still use the hot water option (i.e. double press the bottom button on the espresso side of the machine)? Even if the bypass valve is broken, you should be able to get hot water to squirt out of the milk frother arm. (Incidentally - the steam milk frother won't work if the bypass valve is broken).

So – the fix:

First step is to take apart your machine.1) To do this, first take off the bottom panel. For this, you will need a Torx Screw driver that has a hole in its centre (I hate these anti-tamper screws!!). I’m not sure what size it is, but if you don’t have a set of these screw drivers, here’s a hint to make sure you get the right size: press a piece of bluetack into the screw, and take that as a reference to the hardware store. Alternatively, a complete set of these screw drivers are cheap (e.g. €7 on ebay at the moment).There are 8 of these screws to remove. The base panel should be gently unclipped from all other panels, and then it will come off.You’ll probably notice some metal corrosion on the machines base plate. This is nothing to worry about, but don’t get it in your eyes or mouth!!2) Next remove the back panel. It is held on by 6 screws, 3 on the left and 3 on the right. When all the screws are out, it should slide downwards and off (you might need to force it a little to get it started!).3) Remove the water holder section (this is one plastic piece holding both the espresso and filter water reservoirs. Start by removing the water pipes. There are 3 pipes to remove on the filter coffee side (two orange, and one clear that leads to the water level indicator), and one clear pipe on the espresso side from the espresso water reservoir. Some of these pipes are slightly easier to remove when the water holder section is loosened; and some have cable ties (acting as jubilee clips) holding them on – these will have to be carefully cut off.To remove the water holder section, there are 3 screws. Two are accessible from the underside (these should be clear – they are where the left and right plastic support “columns” of the water holders sit on the metal columns of the metal base plate), and the other (a hidden one) is found on the top of the machine: open the filter coffee lid, and you’ll see a small circular plastic cover to the front-left of the filter holder. Remove this cover, and there is a (Philips) screw in there.To take out the water holder section, you don’t have to take off the side panels, just gently unclip them by pulling them back a little from the water holder section. Then unclip the water holder section from the front panel. Now the water holder will come out upward (again – a little force might be needed, but make sure the side panel clips are out of the way.)

Now, you can see most of the inner workings of the machine (see the picture attached. Sorry about the poor quality of the pictures, the file is limited to 75kb).

To remove the bypass filters:Firstly, detach (unscrew) the bypass valves.Then detach the thin water pipe connecting the first bypass valve to selector switch. It is easiest to remove this at the bypass valve side. Just pull out the metal retaining clip and pull the pipe out of the top of the bypass valve (be careful not to loose the small black O-ring, or the retention clip).Now detach the pipe connecting the second bypass valve to the espresso head. Again – it is convenient to do this at the bypass valve exit by removing the metal retaining clip.Now remove the pipe connecting the two bypass valves to the stager chamber. To do this, just pull the pipe off at the stagger chamber end – it should come off with a little gentle persuasion!

So – whats the problem!!The bypass valves are quite clever (in principle!); they work by using a combination of springs, plugs and different diameter valves to allow water to flow either directly through the valves (high pressure) or diverted to the stagger chamber and collection basin (low pressure).So, in the high pressure case (i.e brewing an espresso) a small plastic piece which has a small diameter hole has to “hold back” the high pressure hot water. The problem seems to be that the plastic piece is not connected to the bypass valve securely enough, and so at sometime will break away from the bypass valve and just sit in the pipe leading to the catch basin. If this happens, the water will always flow to the catch basis and never to the espresso head.In my case, it was the first bypass valve that was broken, but I guess the second one could also break.

So – whats the solution!!The solution is very simple. Firstly, remove the pipe from the bypass valve where the broken part is (i.e. the thick pipe exiting at a right angle from the broken bypass valve). Be careful not to lose any of the small parts that might fall out (see picture). This will include a small spring, a small metal plug, and a small plastic piece which has a small hole through it (it will be broken from its plastic holder). The “holder” might remain attached to the bypass valve exit; take it off – this part is no longer needed (it is the reason your coffee machine no longer works!!).Before fixing the valve, let it dry out (otherwise the glue might not bond / set very well).For the fix:Firstly put the spring back in the valve exit, followed by the plug. The plug goes in pointy side first, and sits in the spring.Now, take the small plastic section that has the hole in it, and apply glue to the outer walls of the piece (be very careful not to get glue on the top or bottom where the small holes are). I used super glue – but any strong glue suitable for plastics should work fine. Holding the piece with a tweezer would be a good idea! Now push that piece into the valve so it sits tightly.Allow the glue to dry for an hour or two, and reassemble the valve. There is no need to put the broken plastic retention ring back onto the valve – just put the pipe back on the valve.

As I said; in my case the first bypass valve was broken, but the second one is likely to fail at some stage too. So, you could also glue the other valve (exact same as described above) at this point to avoid having to take your machine apart again. However, I left mine as it was (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!).

When reattaching the bypass valves to the pipes, make sure to put the O-rings back on. You should probably also put new cable ties on the pipes to make sure they won’t come off (although I haven’t and its working fine!).

At this point, I’ll mention another problem I’ve had with my machine: When making multiple espressos or using the milk frother repeatedly (i.e. if you’re making coffee for 4 or 5 people) the display on my machine can start to collect water condensate, and the machine has stopped working (for an hour or so) a couple of times (I guess because water condensate was collecting on the electronics too).If this has also happened to your machine, I’d advise making a few small holes (with a drill) to allow the steam to escape rather than build up within the machine. Make these holes before you put the machine back together. See the picture to see where I put the holes (on the edge of the cup heating area). This is quite a neat place to put them as they are hidden when the top lids are closed; to allow them to work, I just open the lids while the machine is on. You could alternatively put the holes on the side panel above the steam frother area.

Finally, put everything back together, making sure that no wires / pipes are bent / squashed etc (and make sure all water pipes are securely reattached).

Run the coffee machine through with just water a couple of times to make sure all water is fresh and pipes are clean etc.And finally, enjoy your coffee again!!

Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post

Forum Rules:No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards.No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum.No SEO style postings will be tolerated. SEO related posts will result in immediate ban from CoffeeGeek.No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum.Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards.Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics.Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies.Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies.Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts.Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.